The Dallas City Council is expected to approve new rules Wednesday to protect bicyclists from hostile and careless motorists.

The proposed ordinance calls for fines of up to $300 for drivers who endanger bicyclists, and up to $500 if a bicyclist is injured.

Motorists could be cited for driving in ways that put bicyclists in danger, even if no collision resulted. For example, it would be a violation of the ordinance to pass too close to a bike rider, or to make an abrupt turn in front of one. Throwing something at or near a bicyclist from a car would also be a violation.

The “vulnerable road users” ordinance is similar to one introduced at an October council meeting. It was kicked back to two committees for further review.

The revised version was unanimously endorsed Monday at a joint meeting of the council’s Public Safety Committee and its Quality of Life & Government Services committee. Together, those committees comprise eight council members, a majority, so passage of the ordinance is likely.

Jonathan Braddick, a board member of Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, said the new protections are important, but so is public awareness about the rights of cyclists on city streets.

“What I like about it is we’re talking about it,” Braddick said. “The city hasn’t had this ordinance, and other major cities do. We’ve been behind the eight-ball.”

The ordinance does not address the debate over whether it’s better to rely on shared lanes — those used by both cars and bikes — or to construct more dedicated bike lanes, a more expensive option. The City Council is to be briefed on that issue on Feb. 6.

Mayor Mike Rawlings, who has pushed to make Dallas more bike-friendly, placed the original proposal on the council agenda in October.

One change put forward since would remove the word “knowingly” from parts of the proposed ordinance. That means a motorist’s actions could lead to fines even if he or she did not intend to endanger a bicyclist; just doing something reckless, regardless of intent, could be a violation.

Initially, there was an attempt to define a safe passing distance for cars going around bicyclists. That provision was removed at the request of the police, who said it would be difficult to enforce.

“We do not believe there is an adequate way, a measurement tool that we could use, that would allow us to adequately measure a 3-foot distance, a 4-foot distance,” Assistant Police Chief Tom Lawrence said at Monday’s joint committee hearing.

He said a review of other city ordinances and state laws found that about half specify a safe distance. In other cases, police officers are given discretion to use their judgment, based on the circumstances.

“I appreciate your point about the distance issue, but understand there is a difference of opinion there,” said Angela Hunt, who chairs the Quality of Life & Government Services committee. “But I do think it’s absolutely critical as we become a bicycling city that we take this ambitious step to ensure that we have greater safety and respect for our cyclists on the road.”